Isaiah 55 Study: God Cares About Your Growth

“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,

and do not return there without watering the earth

and making it bear and sprout,

and furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater;”

(Isaiah 55:10)

Have you ever felt like God is more concerned about pointing out your sin than anything else? This verse gets into the reason behind His interest in our sin. 

We’re back at it in our Isaiah 55 study series. We’ve just covered how the “Heavens are higher than the earth” (vs 9), displaying the magnitude of God's grace He extends toward us. It far surpasses our comprehension of it. But verse 10 digs a little further when it mentions the Heavens again - but this time in reference to how He sustains us.

God cares about our growth. He doesn’t just want us to live obedient lives, but to be thriving. He doesn’t just want us to stop doing things that are sin against Him because He needs our obedience. Repentance shouldn’t just pull us back to where we were before - it should move us towards growth in Him.

In fact, God doesn’t need anything from us at all. Not even our worship, He already has all of creation giving Him praise. He needs nothing to make Him more glorious, good or loving. He’s all those things without us. He doesn’t need us to be God - He just is.

What He gives us is purely for our own benefit. He gets enjoyment out of our enjoyment of Him. And we can't enjoy Him if we’re still enjoying sin.

We can’t grow if we’re resisting repentance. Because we’re holding onto something which can never give us life - only a reflection of it. We’ll always be grasping for more if we choose God’s things over God Himself for fulfillment or meaning. We’ll only find that meaning when we’re able to grow.  

How We Grow

Let’s unpack this verse a little more, because it’s loaded with meaning.

It gives us an analogy of a garden being replenished by rain and snow. Humanity is in the garden, and our completed growth in the garden symbolizes the end of life on earth as we know it. The rain and snow help to soften our hearts in order to grow, which is done through the Bible. 

Deuteronomy 32:2 is among many comparisons in the Bible between rain and God’s Word. It says, “Let my teaching drop as the rain, My speech distill as the dew, as the droplets on the fresh grass and as the showers on the herb.”

God’s Word gives us growth. We’re given both God’s Word and His Spirit to learn more about Him. The more we know who created us, the more purpose we find in our own lives. If we don’t know the fabric we’re made out of, how can we realize our identity? 

Snow is different from rain -  in gardening,  its purpose is to preserve the roots during wintertime. During extreme cold weather, snow compacts on vegetation in order to protect it. When Spring arrives, it releases a spring of fresh water. Snow helps preserve God’s word into our lives until the right season for growth. 

I love how incredibly relatable the Bible is. Just as in a garden, our own lives go through seasons of bitter cold we need protection from. God has provided us with a way to be protected so we’re not destroyed,  even when we're frozen in our trials.

But we can’t expect this to happen if we never open up our Bibles. Life will have beautiful days and horrible ones. If we’re constantly caught by surprise by what’s happening around us, our sorrow will only increase. God doesn’t want that for you and me. He wants us to grow and thrive in Him. 

As He’s reminded us in earlier verses, He’s higher than the earth. He’s bigger than anything we might face here on earth. 

He knows you’ll face loss, so He wants to be your comfort. 
He knows you’ll face betrayal, so He wants to be your constant friend.

He knows you’ll face shame, so He wants to show you compassion. 

He knows you’ll face the unknown, so He wants to sit with you through it and remind you who is in control.

He knows and He cares. And He’s worth trusting. 

Do you feel like you’re doing a lot of things but not really growing in your love towards God? He wants more of you. He doesn’t want your actions, He wants your heart. 

What might we be missing from life that can be found in Him?